| Abstract: | Stars in galactic nuclei orbit a supermassive black hole. When one of these stars gets too close to the central black hole, it is torn apart by the tidal forces. The subsequent demise of the star produces a brilliant transient, which produces photons in a wide range of energies, from X rays to radio. This emission, however, typically occurs months after closest approach. In this talk I will discuss a possible "precursor" to a tidal disruption event - a short, faint and hard emission at maximum compression, akin to supernova shock breakout. I will discuss the lightcurve and spectrum of this "precursor", the relation between the types of galactic centres and the event rate, and the expected detection rate current and next generation telescopes. |